Miracles Miracles
by Tales To Tell
Summary: Inspired by Remember Remember by: Suite Sambo. After a head injury resulting in amnesia, Ginny has spent the past 3.5 years living as a stranger among Harry and their three children. With all avenues of treatment exhausted, the Potters have come to accept that the Ginny they knew is gone for good. Then one day out of the blue, the fog clears and the old Ginny comes through.
1. Chapter 1

**Miracles Miracles**

Ginny had been trying to figure it out for a while, and then it finally dawned on her who the voice she heard reading from a storybook nearby belonged to. She smiled. "Al, dear, would you bring Mum a glass of water please."

Albus Severus Potter dropped his book and stood up, staring intently at Ginny. "Mum, did you just call me Al?"

Ginny looked at him quizzically. "Well, yes dear. That is your name, isn't it? Don't tell me you're James polyjuiced." She laughed.

"Mum," cried Albus and then leapt across the room to give her a hug.

Ginny hugged her son, at a loss for what was wrong as he cried into her belly. She had been listening to someone read while imagining the words come to life in front of her and then suddenly got the feeling that she was missing something. After letting her mind drift for a while, she realized that she was thirsty and that she couldn't get herself a drink, which she had a feeling was odd. That she was being read to seemed odd as well, but it didn't bother her; she liked the reader's voice, though she didn't recognize it at first. Now of course, it was obvious to her.

Albus pulled away from his mother's arms and looked up into her face. "Mum?"

"Yes, dear? What's the matter?" She wiped a smudge of tears off his cheek.

Albus squeezed her hand then stood up. "I'll be back."

He ran out of the room, leaving Ginny alone to contemplate her situation. She was in a room she didn't recognize, but which felt familiar. Her room, she felt. But why didn't she know it? And why was the bed so small? It couldn't be a hospital room, it looked too personal and homey. She'd never liked hospitals, but she liked this room very much. She'd just ask Al about it when he got back.

"Dad!" yelled Albus, racing into the kitchen. "Go see Mum quick!"

Harry Potter took one look at his crying son, dropped the dish he'd been washing, and ran to Ginny's room, hands full of suds, fearing the worst. Had she fallen? Was she sick? Did she…

He didn't have to finish his thought as he burst into the room and saw Ginny sitting up in bed looking expectantly at the door. She smiled when she saw him, and his stomach started to do backflips. He hadn't seen that look in her eyes in three and a half years. He staggered slowly toward her. "Gin?"

"Do I look different, Harry? You seem as though you're seeing me for the first time. Am I polyjuiced as well?"

Harry didn't know what Ginny was talking about, but she sounded like she did. She sounded like herself. Like the her before… His legs shook like they were going to give out. He cautiously sat on the edge of the bed next to her and looked deep into her eyes.

She reached out and took hold of his arm and tugged him closer. "What's wrong, dear? Al was acting strangely as well. Or perhaps he was James. Did we have a polyjuice accident? Is that what's going on? Fetch me a mirror would you. I want to see what's wrong with me."

Harry shook his head. "You look fine, Ginny," he whispered. "You're fine."

Ginny scooted closer to Harry, as for some reason he was resisting her pulling him toward her. "Well, you're certainly not." She rubbed his cheek and jaw and felt tension through the stubbly skin. "Whatever it is, it'll be alright, Harry. We'll get passed it together like we always do." She guided his chin toward her and kissed him softly on the lips.

Harry's sudsy hands tightened into fists as he received Ginny's kiss. It was the first since her accident years ago. He wanted so badly to throw his arms around her and crush her to him, but he was terrified that she wouldn't let him. Did she really remember that she loved him? That they were married and had kids? Was this real recovery? Was it temporary? How long would it last? All these worries kept him from responding, and Ginny soon pulled away.

Ginny broke the unreciprocated kiss and looked worriedly at Harry. She wasn't before, but now, she was scared. Something bad had happened, and it had put distance between them, and she didn't know what it was. She needed to know now. She needed to fix it. She opened her mouth to speak, but then James and Lily rushed in, followed by Al bringing her a glass of water.

The first two bombarded her with hugs and kisses, and Harry stood up from the bed to give them room. Ginny reached for Albus to come and complete the group hug. He smiled brightly then climbed onto the other side of the bed and hugged her.

"From the way you all are reacting, I'm beginning to feel like I was away for a long time." She looked up at Harry, whose face seemed to confirm what she was saying.

"I'm going to call Severus," he said, then turned away and walked out of the room.

Ten minutes later, when Harry returned, he'd brought with him a tall man in dark billowing robes whom she instantly recognized as Professor Severus Snape. "Oh my god, Professor Snape?!" she yelled, and started trying to get out of bed.

Severus smiled warmly and gestured that she should stay in bed. "I'm pleased you remember me."

"How could I forget? Everything you've done! Oh my god. What are you doing here? Alive? Harry!"

"It's a long story, Ginny. Let's just say that you've been ill and Severus has been treating you."

Ginny turns back to Severus. "Severus?"

He nods. "Shall I call you Mrs. Potter?"

"Ginny's fine," she said, still awed. "Sir…Severus. How are you alive? Where have you been? Why did you leave? How long have you…"

Severus laughed and conjured a chair beside her bed for himself. "Let's save the questions about me for after you answer some about you."

Ginny blinked confused. "Ok."

For the next thirty minutes, the Potter family gathered in the one room listening to Severus talk to Ginny. For one thing, they wanted to know just how much she remembered and whether or not Severus thought her recovery was significant, and for the other, they were reluctant to be apart from her after nearly four years of believing she was lost forever.

"I can't believe she's back," one of the kids whispered.

Harry glanced at his kids who were huddled together on a big couch he'd conjured for them so that they could sit and watch the interview. They had a large blanket wrapped around the three of them, James in the middle with a sibling under each arm, the younger two holding on to their older brother for reassurance. The sight touched Harry, and he suddenly felt very proud of his eldest.

The kids seemed ready enough to accept that their mother had returned for good, but Harry wasn't ready at all. He'd held on to false hope before for so long that when he'd had to let the old Ginny go and let a new Ginny, a Ginny who didn't know him and didn't love him and wasn't mother to their children, and frankly one who he'd had a hard time seeing as his wife and not a patient under his care, develop in her place, he'd been devastated. But he'd dealt with the debilitating disappointment, grieved, and moved on. At this point, he'd just been waiting for her to recover enough to realize that she didn't want a life of pretend marriage with a school friend and suggest that they go their separate ways. He'd braced himself for the possibility every day for the last year, and so now, to hear the love in her voice and see it in her eyes and feel it in her lips just felt like the universe's attempt at one last kick in the face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"There, there. It's alright now. Mum's here."

Severus had finished his examinations and declared that Ginny was, as far as his magic could tell, perfectly healthy. Now, the kids had piled on the bed and latched on to her like baby opossums. Even James had forgone his air of maturity to cling to his mother.

Harry looked on stiffly, unable to bring himself to join them.

Eventually, their tears receded, and, like Severus, they began to test Ginny's recovery for themselves, quizzing her on various things like birthdays and favorite foods. She passed their tests swimmingly until the questions involved time. It was as though none had passed for her since her injury. She remembered events before it just fine, but everything after seemed to have packed up and shoved itself into the back of her mental closet behind the memories that had resurfaced. She could hardly recount what had happened yesterday, but she remembered her school years and her marriage. She even recalled all her former quidditch teammates' names and positions. Though she seemed disappointed to learn that she no longer played, she took the news in stride. Harry would be glad if she never touched a broom ever again.

"I can't believe I've been _amnesiac_ for three years," Ginny said with both amusement and distress as the quiz game settled down.

"More than that, you were almost like a baby again," said Lily.

"A baby?" Ginny looked in horror at Harry, who confirmed it with a nod.

"More like half infant, half Hogwarts first-year," Harry said, forcing levity into his voice. "We tried everything to bring your memories back, but it seemed the damage was permanent. I wonder why all of a sudden…"

Ginny brushed the top of Albus's head. "I don't know. I was just sitting here listening to Al read, and I felt like I was walking through a fog that was clearing bit by bit. Then I was here, and there was Al and…I didn't know why I felt so strange. It was like I'd gotten back from a long trip."

Severus hummed contemplatively. "Memories are peculiar in that when we lose them through physical injury, often it isn't that they vanish from the mind but that we lose the neural connections that allow us to recall them. In your case, following the train of thought inspired by Albus's reading might have led you to the path that reconnected the memories you couldn't access before." He turned to Albus with a quirk in his brow. "Perhaps there's a career in healing arts for you, young man."

Albus grinned tearfully and hid his face in Ginny's lap.

James patted his brother's shoulder. "We're glad you're back, Mum," he said, shedding tears of his own. "We really are."

Lily, bounced on the bed, suddenly bursting with excitement. "We have to tell Grandma and Grandpa! They'll be thrilled!"

As the children and Ginny made plans for the big reveal, Harry gestured for Severus to follow him into the hall. Once out of sight, he sagged against the wall with his head in his hands, rubbing his face up and down and taking controlled breaths.

"Are you alright?" asked Severus, eying him with the scrutiny of a scientist.

"It's just a lot to take in," said Harry. "I don't know if I'm happy or scared to death. The kids are happy. I should be, but…" Harry made a pained face. "Alright, Severus. Just be straight with me. If this isn't going to last, tell me now so we don't get caught up. I mean, it's good the kids will have a chance to say goodbye, but—"

Severus held a hand up. "Hold on. What are you talking about?"

"I mean, when will she…?" Harry looked at Severus for help.

"Relapse?" Severus supplied, eyebrows raised.

Harry nodded.

"I don't expect her to," said Severus. "In fact, she should be remembering more and more each day. Over time, the memories from the intervening years may even start to weave into her memories of before the accident."

"But are you sure she's back? Is she really…Ginny?"

"Only you can say for certain, Harry. Does she not sound like the Ginny you remember?"

Harry sighed and bowed his head. "She does."

"Then you have your answer."

"So, I'm freaking out over nothing?"

"Your concerns are understandable, but you needn't worry overly much," Severus said and gave his arm a squeeze.

Even with Severus's reassurance, Harry couldn't relax. The pessimism that had infected him three years ago kicked into overdrive, and he began to spiral down a rabbit hole of dread, wondering if he was doomed to lose all his loved ones. Parents, godfather, wife. Fates, please spare his children. That would be the end of him.

…

Molly and Arthur were more than thrilled; they were beside themselves. It was a good hour of hugging and crying before they were coherent enough to make firecalls, and then they put together the fastest assembled family reunion in history. Weasleys of all sorts filled the house to lob heaps of love on their long lost relative, each taking turns to squeeze Ginny to death and blubber on her shoulder. Then came food and celebrations.

Molly outdid herself. There was so much food it was falling off the tables, and when Ginny offered to help her make a salad, she burst into tears. Arthur cried nearly as much as his wife. Before the night was out, however, the Burrow was filled with laughter and cheer. It was as though the past three and a half years had never happened. For them.

Harry tried to join the festivities, but his brain wasn't cooperating. Every time he looked at Ginny, he saw her broken on the quidditch pitch or catatonic in St. Mungo's. None of Molly's cooking, delicious though it was, made it past his stomach.

After several hours of nodding and smiling to all the isn't-it-wonderfuls and you-must-be-so-happys, he left Ginny with her brothers trying out their latest wheezes and retreated to the garden to get some air. He stood under the night sky, staring at the stars, hearing the merriment in the background and wishing he could feel it.

A firefly passed in front of him and seemed to contemplate his face.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he asked it, but the tiny dot of light only flickered and floated off to join a gathering of others.

"What's the matter, Harry?" Ginny asked him later that night as they prepared for bed.

Harry hadn't thought this far ahead, and now he was faced with a glaring problem. Ginny had already slipped under the covers on her side like it was natural, and he was frozen at the foot of the bed, wondering what to do.

"Nothing," he said, and gave her his hundredth fake smile of the evening, looking away as the strap of her nightgown slipped off her shoulder.

"It's not nothing, Harry. I may have forgotten some things, but I know your happy face. That isn't it."

He ran a hand through his unruly hair. "It's just been a while since I've had to share," he said, gesturing to the bed. "I've slept alone these past few years, so it's…weird I guess."

Ginny frowned. "Why is it weird? It's me."

Harry couldn't find a reason, so he put out the lights. "You're right," he said, and got in on the other side.

Ginny scooted over to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, snuggling close. He stared at the ceiling, stiff as stone, as her chest rose and fell against him, the sensation both familiar and foreign. He had missed this, hadn't he? Her warmth and curves conforming to his angles. The sound of her breathing. The smell of her sweat. It should've been good. It should've at least been ok, but Harry felt like he was dying. Ginny slipped her hand up his shirt and started playing with his hairs, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from screaming. He tolerated it for about a minute, then rolled his back toward her and said goodnight.

Ginny stared at Harry's back as he moved away from her, eyes stinging from the hurt. He'd been doing that all night in some way or another: turning his head so her kisses landed on his cheek, pulling back when any part of them touched. She'd noticed his carefully crafted expressions, his mechanical laughter that never reached his eyes, and thought he was just guarding his emotions in front of the family, but now he wasn't even pretending to want her close. Until that moment, she'd thought she was mistaken, but now it was clear as day that, for Harry, her recovery was not good news. She just didn't know why. She spent the night staring at the ceiling fearing that Harry had moved on, that he had stopped loving her and maybe even found someone else.

The awkwardness continued a few more nights, with Harry sleeping on the edge of the mattress, until Ginny got fed up and went to bed in lingerie.

Harry gaped at the scantily clad woman crawling toward his side of the bed, a thousand impulses shooting off within him, unable to act on any. "G-Ginny, what…"

She leaned her head toward him. "Kiss me, Harry."

It was a simple enough request, one he shouldn't have needed, let alone have had difficulty acceding to, but now, despite his body urging him forward, his mind held him back. He forced his hand upward to trace the contour of her face then cupped her cheek and pressed his lips to hers, praying the rest would just come naturally. She smelled like berries and tasted like mint, like she'd washed up and prepared herself for this. He waited with his hands in her hair for the warm rush of desire and anticipation to take over, but instead, a sick feeling began to swell in his gut. After all these years of exercising self-control, drilling restraint into his head, the thought of intimacy with Ginny disturbed him. So many times he'd had to pull back his reaching arms and remind himself that the shell of a person with his wife's face was not his wife. Not his Ginny. Just a girl. A stranger. _Don't!_

Harry shoved Ginny off with a choking gasp. The mattress creaked and the room spun as he jumped from the bed and retreated to a corner of the room, wiping the inside of his mouth with his shirt.

Ginny came after him with a horrified look on her face, hands reaching for him.

Harry raised his arms to block her. "Stop!" he shouted, close to panicking, wishing he had chosen the door instead of the corner. He just needed a bit of space, but Ginny kept coming closer.

"Harry, it's me," she said, sounding almost annoyed.

He squished himself into the wall. "I know, Gin. I just can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." He saw the tops of her breasts bursting through lace flowers and suddenly felt nauseous. He leaned forward with his hands on his knees and started taking deep breaths.

Ginny stomped her foot. "Why are you being like this, Harry? Everyone's welcomed me back with open arms except you. It's almost like you don't want me here."

"I just need time," Harry said, holding his stomach and trying to stand straight. "I'm so messed up in my head. It's like you died, and I've already mourned you. I don't know how to go back."

Ginny regarded him a long while, her eyes slowly narrowing. "Yes, you do. But maybe you don't want to. Maybe you preferred me gone."

Harry grimaced. "Of course not. How could you say that?"

"How could you push me away like that? And then you scraped your mouth clean like I'm some over-excited dog."

"I'm scared, Ginny," Harry said. "What if you relapse or something? What if this is only temporary and we get caught up, and then one day you're gone? I can't lose you again."

"No, you can't, Harry, because you can't even accept that I'm here now. How can you say you're afraid of losing me and then push me away?!"

"I'm just trying to protect myself," he said.

"By sacrificing me?" Ginny turned to leave.

Harry grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Ginny, wait. I just need to clear my head. Then I'll try. We can…" He leaned forward to kiss her, but she shoved his face back. He flung her wrist away. "I don't know what you want from me!" he yelled.

"Stop treating me like an obligation!" she shouted back. "I feel like an overstayed guest!"

"I can't just fall back into the routine! It hasn't been a routine for four years!"

"Well it's like yesterday to me," Ginny said with tears in her eyes. "It's like I just woke up and my husband is gone."

Harry ran a guilty hand through his hair. He didn't know what to say. She was right. He was being selfish. He should get over it already or just pretend if he couldn't.

"You've already had to mourn me," Ginny said. "Don't force me to mourn you now."

Harry gazed into her pleading eyes and tried to figure out how to coordinate his limbs and facial expressions to naturally convey affection. The longer he looked at her without moving, the nearer he felt to the end of something. He had to move now. He had to show her that their relationship hadn't changed. But Harry had never been good at hiding his true emotions. "I'm sorry, Ginny," he said against his will. "I just…don't feel how I used to."

Ginny recoiled as though she'd been cursed. "So that's it?" she whispered. "Your love for me expired?"

Harry tried to make himself say _no_ , but he couldn't even shake his head.

Ginny hexed the pillows to beat him then ran out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

They kept up appearances for the children's sake, and for the next week, the three young ones were happier than they'd been in years. Ginny moved back into her old room under the pretense of wanting to give them lots of "Mum time" to make up for what they'd missed, and she herself wanted to catch up with them, so it was win-win. For them.

That week, Harry saw little to nothing of his wife and barely anything of his kids, as Ginny daily took them on outings without telling him anything, and nightly after dinner, if they hadn't eaten at wherever without him, they piled onto the bed in her old room, transfigured to comfortably fit all four of them, and listened to her read fairytales they'd long grown out of until they fell asleep, each clutching a part of her till morning.

Last night, Harry had stood in the doorway for nearly an hour staring at the heap of his wife and kids sharing the giant bed, wishing he wished he were among them. As long as they were happy, he was content to pretend that everything was hunky-dory.

By morning, the façade had started to crack.

The first blip came before sunup, when Lily had a nightmare and woke everyone with her crying.

"How could you forget us, Mum? Didn't you love us enough to remember?" Harry heard as he opened the door.

Lily was crying on Albus's shoulder and holding James's hand while Ginny rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.

"I'm so sorry, Lily. I'd never choose to forget you," Ginny said.

"What's the matter?" asked Harry.

"Daddy!" Lily ran to him and hugged his waist. "I dreamt Mum was gone again. And you were gone too. And Al and James. And I was all alone."

Harry's heart broke for his daughter. He squeezed her tightly and rubbed her head as she dampened his shirt with tears. "No one's leaving you, Sweetheart." He glanced at Ginny as he said so. She held his gaze with tired eyes for a moment then looked away.

When Lily settled down, Harry didn't go back to sleep, as he would be up in a few hours anyway to make breakfast. Besides, these days, he wasn't having much success in the sleep department. He sat up in the darkened kitchen sipping cold coffee, waiting for sunrise and thinking.

Things couldn't go on like this. Everything had seemed well enough at first, but now he felt the family cracking. Of all the kids, he had thought Lily the most resilient. She'd always seemed to bounce back the fastest from upsets. He had a feeling his recent withdrawal from their lives had been a major cause of her nightmare. More than once the kids had told him he should join them on their trips, but he kept giving lame excuses to avoid them. That had to stop. Things might be shaky between him and Ginny, but they could at least be civil to each other around the kids. At this point, it had to be obvious that they weren't speaking.

He wished he could take back his declaration that night. Even if he wasn't sure what exactly he felt for Ginny now, he knew it couldn't really be that he'd stopped loving her. It was more that the target of his love had vanished for too long, and now that it was here again, he didn't know how to reconnect. He was just waiting for everything to click back into place. Maybe he felt some resentment too. Ginny got to come back and move on like nothing had happened, but he would always remember the agony of loss, the terror of loneliness, and the exhaustion of pretending he was fine 24/7. And she would never know what it felt like to be haunted by his living ghost.

…

Under Harry's direction, golden brown toast flew around the kitchen, chased by butter knives and jam spoons, fried eggs sizzled in a pan with chopped sausage, and bacon strips flipped on the griddle to sear their other sides. He was so used to his morning duties, that he could do them in his sleep, which he'd proven many times after his most exhausting nights. His timing was often so perfect, that the kids would come in just as the last plate reached the table.

 _Now water for Lily, o-j for Al, and chocolate milk for James…_

Harry stilled at the sight of Ginny's dragon tail mug on the top shelf of the cabinet. It was his first Christmas gift to her as her husband. After the accident, he'd put it there out of reach as a sort of memento of the past, and the kids had followed his unspoken rule that it was off-limits.

Reaching up with both hands, he carefully took it down and inspected it. The outside was gritty, coated with a grey film of dust that had settled on it over the years. Inside it was more grit and a dead flour weevil. With his fingertips, he smudged off some of the grey, revealing vibrant maroon beneath. Suddenly he thought of Ginny sipping tea on the sofa with her feet on his lap, threatening to kick him if he tickled her.

He dumped the weevil then scoured the mug under the faucet until it was smooth to the touch. Setting it on the counter, he poured in a quarter cup of milk then topped it up with tea and a heap of sugar, just how he remembered Ginny liked it. After spooning a taste and judging it right, he set it aside for her with a charm to keep it hot.

The kids reached the table as the bacon was flying to its plate. Behind them, Ginny came in looking…radiant.

Harry shook his head and started piling food onto the kids' plates. When Ginny sat down, he put the tea in front of her then retreated to the other side of the table. At first, she only stared at the mug, frowning like it offended her, but then she picked it up and started to drink.

Listening to the kids chatter and watching Ginny sip her tea and sometimes smile, things almost seemed alright.

…

She handed him the papers already signed, just his signature needed to make it official.

He stared at the top page for a long time, reading the title over and over until his vision blurred. "You really want this?" he finally asked, unable to look at her face.

"I just want you to be happy," she said. "If not with me, then whoever."

A million thoughts ran through his head. "The kids…," was all he could say.

"I don't want to hurt them," she said. "But I don't want to live a lie."

"What lie?" he asked, straining through his tightening throat.

"That we're married," said Ginny. "That you love me."

"I love you, Ginny," said Harry.

"No. You loved me. I believe that. But I think you don't see me anymore."

Harry raised his head to look at her, but she had already turned her back.

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"Your problem," said Severus, swirling the amber liquid in his glass, "is that you want to be prepared for anything that might happen. But you will never be, so you'd best give up now."

Harry had wound up at the Snape residence by instinct. He'd shown Severus the divorce papers, crumpled to the floor, and then mentally disintegrated. Severus had scooped up his bits and pieces and deposited him in a chair, then after getting the details from Harry, summoned a bottle of firewhisky and commenced doling out advice steeped in drink. Now the two men sat next to each other in reclining lounge chairs, a tray table and a nearly empty bottle of Ogden's Old between them. They had been discussing Harry's crisis for several hours and each gone through several glasses, the disproportion of which was evident in Harry's slurred speech.

"I juss…feel like…issa trick," said Harry, blinking at the ceiling, his own glass sitting loose in his hand. "Nothing good's free."

Severus gave him a look he reserved for gone off potions. "And what does it cost you, Harry?"

Harry pondered the question with his eyes closed. "Piece ummind."

"Nonsense," said Severus. "Your so-called caution cost you that." He put down his glass then stood up, swaying a bit as he dusted off his robes. "What have I always told you, Harry? My favorite lesson that I never failed to repeat?"

"Life inn't fair," said Harry, morosely, and reached for the bottle to refill his glass.

"Exactly," said Severus, then grabbed him by his shirt and hoisted him to his feet. The glass fell and shattered, but he paid it no mind. "Listen to me, Harry. Life isn't fair, and often it is far from kind, so when it hands you a miracle, take it and run." He held Harry's shoulders and forced him to look into his eyes. "You have your wife back. For however long doesn't matter. She's here now. She could be gone tomorrow. Or you could be. Don't waste your time worrying about it."

Harry started to slump.

Severus shook him upright then dragged him to the fireplace. He took something from a box on the mantel and pressed it into Harry's hand, then he shoved his other hand into a bowl of floo powder. "You would squander this chance at happiness because you're afraid of disappointment?" he said scowling at him. "Gryffindor bravery at its best."

Harry gaped back at him in drunken alarm. The thing in his hand was a vial of sobering potion. He pried the stopper out with his teeth and gulped the contents in one breath, then he threw the powder into the fire and shouted for home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Harry staggered out of the floo with Severus's advice echoing in his head. His caution had cost him his wife. Or it would if he didn't he didn't shape up fast. Like now. He shook with the terror of finding Ginny packed and gone. Deep inside, he knew he couldn't let her go. Even if it broke his heart a thousand times, he would take any chance to have her back.

She was still here, as were the kids and all their belongings. Through the slightly cracked open bedroom door, he saw them all piled into Ginny's bed again, crowded around a giant book as she read them a bedtime story. He stood outside and listened until she got to the happily ever after, wondering if they had hope for one. As he reached up to knock on the doorframe, Albus's voice made him pause.

"What's wrong, Mum? You're crying?"

Ginny sniffled. "Nothing, Sweetheart," she said. "It's just…a lovely story."

"I like that one a lot too," said Lily. "Even though they were apart for so long, they remembered they loved each other."

"It was true love," said Ginny.

"Like you and dad."

Ginny sniffled again. "Yes exactly."

"Mum," said James, his voice oddly tense. "Are you and Dad…"

Harry knocked and pushed the door open. "Alright, everyone. To bed."

Ginny looked up at him with wide, glistening eyes.

Lily threw her arms around her mother. "Aww, Dad. Can't we stay with Mum again tonight?"

Harry entered the room and stood just inside the doorway, arms folded in mock impatience. "I think you three have monopolized your mum's attention long enough," he said. "To bed with you."

"Aww. Fine. See you in the morning, Mum."

With a bit of grumbling and yawning, the children bid their parents goodnight then headed to their rooms.

As James passed by, he gave Harry a scrutinizing look.

Harry mussed his hair and smiled. "Sleep well, son."

The boy looked unappeased but nodded anyway. "Night, Dad."

Ginny levitated the storybook to its place on the shelf.

"Your magic's coming along," said Harry, still standing by the door. "Should be perfect pretty soon."

Ginny fluffed her pillow and fixed the covers over her legs. "Have you signed the papers yet?"

"I burned them," said Harry.

Ginny stilled a moment but then continued to fidget with the bedclothes.

Harry cleared his throat. "Won't you come to bed, Ginny?"

She glared at him. "I didn't know I was welcome in your bed."

"Our bed," he said.

She scooted under the covers to lie on her back, smirking up at him. "I don't know. I sort of like this one. The other one's too squishy."

Harry inched further into the room. "I can firm it up for you," he said and ran a hand through his hair. "And the mattress too."

Ginny raised an eyebrow.

Harry laughed and started to blush, feeling his ears heat up. "Right. Corny. Sorry."

Ginny bit her lip in that way she did when she was amused but uncertain that she should be. She held on to wariness for a moment longer, then let the fight leave her eyes. "As adorable as you are, standing there awkwardly trying to hit on me, I'd rather you were closer."

Some of the tension left Harry's shoulders. "I wasn't sure if…"

"Get over here, Harry."

He shuffled over to her and sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hand. "Ginny, I've been an ass."

"I know," she said grinning at him.

He laughed and kissed her knuckles. "I've missed you so much," he said. "Losing you was the most painful thing I've ever felt. I couldn't imagine going through that again, so it seemed safer if you stayed gone. Stupid, I know. I mean, Severus told me I should take the universe's generous gift and run. The kids are happy. You're happy. The only one miserable was me. It's like I was holding my breath so I wouldn't run out of air. And it was unfair to you. I should've tried harder to—"

His next words were obstructed by Ginny's mouth over his, and he quickly forgot them.

"I get it," Ginny said after their lips parted. "And you weren't all in the wrong. I should've been more sensitive to what you've been going through. You've been practically alone these past years. Taking care of the kids. Taking care of _me_. I shouldn't have demanded that you bounce back immediately. And if you need more time—"

"I don't," he said quickly. "I may not be totally…recovered, let's say, but any healing I need, I'll do it with you."

They kissed again and held each other close for some time.

"Well," said Ginny with a playful lilt, tugging Harry's top button, "I happen to know a particularly effective kind of healing."

Harry growled into her neck and initiated a tickle attack. Ginny burst into squealing giggles, twisting and kicking up the sheets. Her laughter was a salve on Harry's heart. Finally, it dawned on him that his Ginny was back. His wife was in his arms. She knew him. She loved him. His chest swelled, filling with all the emotions he'd thought lost for good. Like Ginny's memories, that missing part of him had finally returned.

The sudden realization triggered a pang in Harry's gut. Without warning, he scooped Ginny into his arms, spinning her around like he'd done so many times before, and took her to bed.

Husband and wife fell asleep with limbs entwined like they were molded to each other.

Harry had sweet dreams for the first time in ages. Also for the first time in ages, he slept past dawn. Late morning, he woke alone, arm stretched across a cold depression in the sheets beside him. A wave of panic had him rolling out of bed and grabbing his wand, heart throbbing in his stomach. He spelled on some trousers and ran out of the room to look for Ginny, fearing the worst.

The smell of fresh bread and butter stopped him in his tracks. Through the banging of his pulse, he heard his children's voices and the tinkering of plates and cutlery. He followed the sounds to the kitchen, and through the entrance to the dining room saw James, Albus, and Lily sitting at the table eating breakfast. A look around located Ginny stooping by the oven, peeking through the glass. He stood there observing, listening to their morning noise, taking in the scene he'd missed so much: his family safe, whole, happy.

As he stood there passively enjoying the atmosphere, the conversation turned to his absence.

"Wow. Dad never sleeps in anymore."

"He'd better hurry up before we eat all the rolls."

"Or we could save him some."

"Or just one."

Harry chuckled and decided to reveal his presence. "Morning everyone."

Three heads turned at once to look at him.

"Morning Dad," said James, stuffing his grinning mouth with bread.

Lily bounced in her chair. "Dad, Look! Mum made breakfast today, and it's brilliant!"

"James is eating yours," said Albus smirking into his orange juice.

"Snooze you lose, old man," said James and wolfed down another roll without remorse.

"There's plenty more," said Ginny, still with her back to him. She took a tray of breakfast rolls out of the oven and put it on the stove to cool before turning to Harry with a bright smile and a rosy glow on her cheeks. "Care for breakfast, Harry?"

Harry pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, deep kiss to a chorus of "eeew" behind him. When he released her, Ginny bopped him on the head with an oven mitt.

"I meant eggs and bacon," she said.

"That too," said Harry.

They smiled goofily at each other and leaned in for another kiss.

"Oi! Get a room, you two!" cried James. "There are impressionable minds here."

Albus snickered. "Yeah, Dad. How about you put on some more clothes and then come sit with us."

"But they have to kiss," said Lily. "They always kiss at the end of the story. That's how you know they're happy."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I suppose now we're obligated to live happily ever after," he said.

"Of course," said Lily. "It's the rules."

Harry laughed and gazed at the woman in his arms. "Do you think we can manage that?"

Ginny smiled back at him. "I think we've got a good chance."


End file.
